Polls Apart by Clare Stephen-Johnston Page B

the tone of a long-lost uncle. “So nice to see you here.” He lunged forwards and planted a lingering kiss on her left cheek.
    “Thanks for inviting me,” said Anna “It’s actually my first engagement since the whole marriage saga kicked off – in fact, it’s pretty much my first time out anywhere since then.”
    “Well, you’re among friends here today,” Kelvin said earnestly. Anna smiled politely but decided to move Kelvin’s attentions on before he said something that would really make her regret her decision to join him for this event. She was beginning to sense that the talk about this being “a non-political celebration, focused entirely on the women whose courage it sought to highlight” had actually just been a line to hook her into boosting Kelvin’s campaign. The thought made her stomach lurch and she turned quickly to the lady standing expectantly between them.
    “This is Maggie Rae,” Anna said, touching her new acquaintance on the arm.
    “Hiya, Mr Davis. Thanks ever so much for inviting me,” Maggie gushed.
    “You are most welcome Maggie. I’ve heard so much about you.” Kelvin’s eyes darted around the room as he searched out an advisor or PA who would keep him right on timing.
    “If I could encourage you ladies to move towards the far side of the room, we are going to gather for a small photo.”
    “Oooh, lovely,” Maggie said, heading quickly in the direction Kelvin was pointing.
    The Prime Minister leant in towards Anna. “Might I say, you look particularly beautiful today Anna. Your recent upset has done nothing to harm your looks.”
    “You’re very kind Kelvin. Thank you,” replied Anna curtly in order not to further encourage him. But Kelvin hadn’t finished.
    “You just stick to your guns and stay as far away as you can from Richard, because I’ve always known he’s all front and no substance. Frankly, you need a better man than that. I know how it feels to be publicly dumped and if you ever need someone to talk to, do not hesitate to call me here. Do you understand?” With this he gave Anna a conspiratorial nod, before marching off in the direction of Reggie.
    Anna raised her eyes to the ceiling and sighed at the naivety of her decision to attend. With or without Richard, she was still a political pawn and realised she would have to be more careful in future about the events she chose to support. It was clear Kelvin was still living up to his reputation as a womaniser. Anna couldn’t help but wonder what he would have planned for next week’s visit from the Italian Prime Minister, with whom he famously enjoyed “socialising”, but she had no doubt he would be looking forward to it.
    “Well, the headlines are clearly not going away,” Richard said, making sure he caught Henry’s eye as he made this point, “so we’ve got to look at how we can turn things around. I have my own ideas on what needs to be done, but first I’d like to hear from each of you.” Richard looked around his inner circle expectantly.
    “If I could just say,” Bob jumped in. “It was clear to me from the start that public opinion would not change whilst Richard remained estranged from Anna. People are firmly on her side and, right now, she appears to be a woman in need of support from the husband she clearly still loves. I was never in favour of the separation in the first place…”
    Sandra groaned and raised her eyes to the ceiling.
    “… but, it’s time to look forward, not back. Richard needs to make amends for his wrongdoing.”
    “Are you seriously saying he should go back to Anna after all that’s been said?” Sandra asked, her mouth hanging open with incredulity. “She has just spent the afternoon with Kelvin Davis after all. Talk about kicking sand in our faces.”
    “And maybe we asked for that,” Ray piped in. “I’m with Bob one hundred per cent. I don’t believe we can win this election without Anna back in the fold. The biggest question is going to be